Phoenix Coyotes' storied season ends with tough loss

by Jim Gintonio - Apr. 27, 2010 08:50 PMThe Arizona Republic

The joyride is over - and it ended with a crash. On the brink of making franchise history, the Coyotes instead wound up just another footnote in the history of the 11-time Stanley Cup-champion Detroit Red Wings.

The stinging 6-1 defeat in Game 7 of their Western Conference series Tuesday night hurt even more because the Coyotes, who battled long odds throughout the season, could not mount much of a challenge at Jobing.com Arena.

It was the fifth Game 7 loss in five tries for the Jets/Coyotes franchise.

"We didn't catch the pace of the game the whole game," coach Dave Tippett said. "Their top players came out and dictated the pace, and we had no answer for them, and they were relentless.

"When their top players play like that, the whole group just jumps right in, and hats off to them, they played an unbelievable game. We had no answer no matter what we were doing. They just turned it up another level that we couldn't get to."

Despite the defeat, the crowd of 17,543 rose for a sustained ovation, and the players raised their sticks in appreciation.

The Coyotes had forced Game 7 by stunning the Red Wings 5-2 in Detroit on Sunday. Again, they played without captain Shane Doan, the heart and soul of the team who had sustained a Grade 3 separation of his right shoulder in Game 3.

Detroit, moving to the second round against San Jose, came out aggressive, a step ahead of the Coyotes, and maintained that for 60 minutes. The Coyotes weathered a storm - Tippett called it a hurricane - in the first period when Detroit fired 17 shots on net.

"Our big guys were fantastic tonight, not to take anything away from anyone else on our team, but the big guys really came to play," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said.

The Red Wings scored four goals in the second period, two after the Coyotes cut the margin to one when Vernon Fiddler not only won a faceoff but slapped the puck into the net.

"The way they played tonight, don't know if anybody can beat them," Bryzgalov said. " . . . I played with everything . . . tried to keep the team alive the best I can, but it was not enough. You can say maybe we didn't play good enough, tough to say, but they were unreal tonight."

Two turning points occurred in the second period: The Coyotes, who were 0 for 5 on the power play, could not score when on a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:12, and the Red Wings' Brad Stuart stormed out the penalty box and notched a goal with five seconds remaining.

Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom each scored twice for Detroit, with Brian Rafalski and Henrik Zetterberg each collecting three assists. Datsyuk's first goal early in the second period ignited the charge.

"We didn't get the first goal, and that usually gives you a spark," Fiddler said. "They got it."

After a 50-win season, a loss like this to end the season was disheartening.

With a chance to cut the lead to a goal, the Coyotes could not convert on a 5-on-3 power play that lasted for 1:12.

Key number

0: Victories in five Game 7s in franchise history.

View from the press box

The Coyotes made great strides this season but just could not stick with the Red Wings in Game 7 on home ice. This is a team whose future looks bright. It will take a while to get over this stinging loss, but better things likely are ahead.